Parks enters race for Senate District 3 seat

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

Before his successful career as a civil rights attorney started, Daryl Parks had a passion for using an elected office to affect positive change for people.

Almost three decades since he was president of the student government body at FAMU, Parks is taking his interest in the wellbeing of others to another level. Parks will do that by challenging incumbent Republican Corey Simon for the 13-county, District 3 seat in the Florida Senate.

Park, a Democrat, made his intentions official when he filed last Tuesday with the Florida Division of Elections.

“We’ve gotten to a point now in this state and this community that we see a state government where many people are being attacked or isolated,” Park said, explaining his decision. “When we look at our government, it doesn’t appear to be a true representative of the great people who live in the state of Florida. I believe that Florida deserves a senator who is focused on making sure they have the best opportunity to keep their hard-earned money, mainly in driving down the cost of insurance so they can have more money in their pockets.”

Another of his key issues is the state’s stand on abortion, a restriction that will go before voters in November. Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court recently decided to let stand a 15-week abortion ban that will eventually become a more restrictive six weeks, effective May 1.

“I disagree with that,” Parks said. “I think a woman has the right to chose.”

His priorities also include public education and affordable housing, Parks said. 

Parks came to Tallahassee from Haines City in 1986 to attend FAMU, where he led the Student Government Association. He also was a member of the student-faculty senate and he was a member of Florida Student Association.

That experience, in part, and his other civic involvements have prepared him for the challenge he is making, said Darryl Jones, who was an underclassman that Parks mentored at FAMU.

“That will serve him well as a member of the senate because he is able to build consensus to provide the best representation for the panhandle,” said Jones, a member of Leon County School Board. “He has common sense. And because he has common sense he is able to communicate in such a way that he is able to communicate across the aisle and be able to convince them of his point of view.

“I believe Daryl Parks will be one of many voices elected in this next cycle as the state of Florida tries to right itself from what has been public trampling of our civil rights by the current legislature.”

He attended FSU law school and graduated in 1995. While at FSU, he was a representative in the Student Bar Association. His post-FSU engagement included being a member of the South City Foundation board, and chair of the board of directors for Bond Community Health Center.

Parks’ path to challenging Simon will begin with an August primary against Kimblin NeSmith, a Democrat and Gadsden County Commissioner. The primary winner will advance to face Simon, who upended Loranne Ausley in 2022 to end a Democratic stronghold on the district.

One day after filing, Parks’ campaign announced that he has raised $110,889 in a 24-hour period. That outpaces NeSmith’s campaign, which reported  $23,622.09 in fund-raising as of last Monday.

That Parks has a solid lead in fund-raising isn’t surprising to those who know him. For more than a decade when he and his best friend Ben Crump owned a law firm they supported politicians and non-profit organizations.

Parks’ philanthropy went beyond that, said Bob Cox, a trial lawyer who has known him for about 30 years. When Parks wasn’t giving of his resources, he mentored young lawyers, helping them to understand the importance of being prepared for a case, Cox said.

“He has made some good, young lawyers out of that (Parks and Crump) firm,” Cox said.

Cox added that Parks’ background as a civil rights attorney and upbringing in his native Haines City qualify him to run for the senate. 

“You’re usually facing a very hostile defense and even the courts,” he said. “So it takes a very special kind of person to take on those cases. Daryl has done very well with a number of them. The other thing that Daryl brings is he grew up poor. There were times when things were harsher than they are today. Much harsher. So, Daryl doesn’t have to stretch to empathize with poor people.

“I think this is a good time for him to do it. Politics has become so polarized and I think that Daryl is the kind of candidate that can stand up and take a position on just what he thinks is right.”